America’s Fastest-Growing Cities

To create its annual list of fastest-growing cities, Forbes “began with the 100 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the U.S., geographic areas designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that include cities and their surrounding suburbs. We rated these places based on six metrics. Using data from Moody’s Analytics, we assessed the estimated rates of population growth for 2013 and 2014, year-over-year job growth for 2013, and the rate of gross metro product growth—a.k.a. the economic growth rate--for 2013. We also considered federal unemployment data and median salaries for local college-educated workers, courtesy of Payscale.com.”

The list ranks the 20 fastest-growing metro areas in America “in terms of population and economy.”

Austin, Texas tops the list, followed by Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Land Use Integrity Project has also produced analysis of the list, including “the key takeaways from the Forbes list are that an educated workforce and diverse economy help attract new business and keep unemployment low.”